Page 47 of Beast
"Because of what they say about you. That you are a murderer. That you killed your own..."
I slam her against the wall and wrap my hand around her throat before I can stop myself. Before I can breathe. My temper is running hot, and she is not backing down this time.
"Did you do it?" she wheezes. "Did you kill her?"
I squeeze a little harder.
"Shut up."
"Will you do the same to me?"
There are tears in her eyes now. And this time, they do not make me hard. My fingers fall away from her throat.
We are both quiet. Breathing hard. I can hear the drum of her heart. See the vein pulsing in her neck. I can smell her fear. And her sadness too.
"Do not provoke me," I bite out. "I told you not to provoke me."
"It's not my fault you can't control your temper," she snaps.
Her lip trembles and one of the tears spills over her eyelid and down her cheek. I wipe it away with my thumb before I have given it any thought. She closes her eyes and leans into my touch. Eager for the brief moment of comfort I have provided her.
I want to do more. I want things that don’t make sense. I want to hold her. Kiss her. Lay with her. It has to stop. It has to stop now.
I grab her by the arms and drag her down to the dining room. Her vulnerability flees in the presence of fresh terror.
“Javi?”
Her Javi is gone now, and only the monster remains.
I don’t tell her so. I don’t need to. She will see for herself. This temptress who thinks she can fool me.
I hoist her up onto the table, and she tries desperately to scramble away. She is fast this time, wiggling around as I bind her wrists to each leg of the table.
It occurs to me that I have spoiled her. I have let her get away with too much. I pull out my knife and slash the full length of the dress, halving it from top to bottom. Then I slap each of her tits hard until she calms down and obeys.
“Javi,” she pleads through teary eyes and broken breaths. “Please…”
My only response is to bind her ankles next. So soft and slight and delicate. I pause only briefly to appreciate them, and then I snap myself out of it.
I remove the scraps of material from her body and toss them aside. Leaving her naked. Vulnerable.
Mine.
Just the way that I like her.
She looks so angelic when she cries, and I have forgotten how much I enjoy this. I was wrong to think anything had changed. That it could be any other way with her. Because this… this is what I need. What I want and what I will have.
I lean down to kiss her, and this time, the flames are back in her eyes. She bites my lip and makes me bleed. My lips smear the blood onto hers, forcing her to taste it. And then I pinch her nipples and make her cry out one last time.
“Tonight, beauty.” I stroke her cheek. “Tonight, you will receive your punishment.”
Chapter Nineteen
He leavesme for six hours before he comes back this time. I know because I count each chime from the bell on the clock.
I am cold. Dazed. Bitter. I don’t understand him. I don’t understand why he keeps doing this to me. Or what I’ve done to warrant this punishment.
When I see him again, I tell him as much. But he has grown cold again. Closed off again. Unsympathetic to my plight.
